Strony

I photographed a process without which life Warsaw would be impossible. We draw water from beneath the Vistula and return it to the river. These places are seldom seen. Mysterious places, at the heart of the city, but un-urban, by the river, but hidden beyond thick growth.

The relationship between the river and the city is something absolutely fundamental, physical. My theme is the exchange that goes on between the river and the city, the water circulation cycle. I wanted to find places that serve this purpose. This is how I discovered the Czajka sewage treatment plant, which is a beautiful structure. I got to know the inside of the Filters – a mysterious, closed area in the centre of Warsaw. Working on the project, I found it fascinating to meet people who are passionate about what they do at the Praga waterworks or the South treatment plant. It is the machinery of the river we try to conceal and not to look at. Fat Kate, Zeran, Siekierki, storm water collectors. I think there is a certain beauty to this architecture, these places.

I photographed water supply devices (because water is drawn from under the bottom of the Vistula) and sewage treatment machinery (because sewage is dumped in the river – until quite recently in its “raw” form, now usually decontaminated). Water from the Vistula is also used by the Siekierki and Zeran power plants (for cooling), which then return it to the river. We are dependent on the river.